WA premier open to plastic bag ban

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan says he is open to the idea of banning plastic bags if alternative options are equally convenient for shoppers.

Mr McGowan also said he supported local councils being able to make their own decisions, after the City of Fremantle's attempt was prevented by the Barnett government in 2015.

"One of the things that drives me crazy is to see those images of whales or turtles or dolphins dying as a consequence of consuming plastic and we need to play our part to deal with that," he told reporters on Tuesday.

"Packaging is a big issue across the world and it's destroying marine life, it's destroying our oceans."

Mr McGowan said he wanted to make it convenient for shoppers, while also doing what was best for the environment, so he would look at options available as an alternative to plastic bags.

"If they are as easy and available for consumers, well why shoudn't we use those as opposed to plastic?" he said.

The premier's comment came after Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said he wanted to ban or limit the use of plastic bags, and introduce a recycling refund scheme for cans and bottles.